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Conservative reps. want Napolitano out

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A controversial DHS memo has sparked indignant battle cries from conservatives and some veterans.
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House Republicans are calling on Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to step down or be fired in the wake of a controversial department memo that has sparked indignant battle cries from conservatives and some veterans.

“Singling out political opponents for working against the ruling party is precisely the tactic of every tyrannical government from Red China to Venezuela," said Texas Rep. John Carter, a member of the party's elected leadership who has organized an hour of floor speeches Wednesday night to call for Napolitano's ouster. “The first step in the process is creating unfounded public suspicion of political opponents, followed by arresting and jailing any who continue speaking against the regime.”

In particular, conservative members of the Republican Study Committee raised repeated concerns about the report and Napolitano's subsequent defense of its findings on Wednesday, calling on party leaders to raise the issue with President Barack Obama during a White House meeting on Thursday.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a report earlier this month warning federal, state and local law enforcement officials that the slumping economy "could create a fertile recruiting environment for right-wing extremists and even result in confrontations between such groups and government authorities similar to those in the past."

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Conservative bloggers and talk radio hosts immediately seized on the report as evidence that the Obama administration was trying to marginalize its critics on the right.

Veterans groups also complained that the report singled out "military veterans" returning from war who face "significant challenges reintergating into their communities," leading to the "potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone-wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks."

Readers' Comments (354)

I'll support anyone who wants to go down this path. Napolitano is a joke. The more she opens her mouth, the more of a joke she is. As for the "right wing extremists", her name might be on the paperwork, but Barry is the ghostwriter.

The GOP right wing will use any excuse for their sleezy witchhunts. Their sole purpose is to carry out search and destroy missions on anyone that doesn't follow their sick idealogy.

While Napolitano may not have worded her memo as sensitively as she could have, the intent was clear - to be aware of domestic terrorists who are fermenting their violence and hatred in unseen corners of our country. That includes right wing extremists, and yes, a small percentage of veterans who may have emotional and mental problems.

Obama should speak up and stand behind Napolitano; otherwise the GOP will be hysterically screaming for resignations of any cabinet member that makes a mistake. After eight years of incompetence, secrecy, mistakes, corruption and trashing of our country, the GOP has some nerve pulling this crap.

Personally I support her being fired not because of the report being published, but more because she lacks the credentials to lead the DHS. She has weak policy on security, immigration, and well pretty much everything dealing with the DHS.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a report earlier this month warning federal, state and local law enforcement officials that the slumping economy "could create a fertile recruiting environment for right-wing extremists and even result in confrontations between such groups and government authorities similar to those in the past.

“Singling out political opponents for working against the ruling party is precisely the tactic of every tyrannical government from Red China to Venezuela," said Texas Rep. John Carter. “The first step in the process is creating unfounded public suspicion of political opponents, followed by arresting and jailing any who continue speaking against the regime.”

Sounds to me like the first step in the process is to create unfounded public suspicion of the government, equating our democractic government with China and Venezuela. The nutjob Republican Rep for MN, Michele Bachnamnn, was calling for her constituents to become "armed and dangerous"! Her comment was in the context of becoming informed about carbon cap and trade, but there's no place for that kind of irresponsible inflammatory rhetoric. With the NRA throwing gas on the fire, whipping up fear that "Obama is going to take your guns away", creating such a boom in gun and ammunition sales that there are shortages of ammo, makes it even worse, triggering shootings like in Philly. The threats are real, shouldn't the dept of homeland security be on the watch for this sort of thing?

It's a toxic conflict soup, and it iwouldn't take much to trigger an attack like the Oklahoma Federal Building bombing by McVeih and Co, as the article suggests. As a former Army officer and veteran, I know first hand that we are the best trained military personnel on the planet. That knowledge and training can be used for good or for evil. In my opinion, it is very wise to at least be aware of what veterans might be doing. I think putting more emphasis on the VA to monitor and treat PTSD and other post war problems would be an excellent first step. Veterans have a very high rate of divorce, suicide, problems at work etc. They served our country, they deserve our support. And I would not like to see any of them in the news after some mass killing.

Neither Bill Ayers nor his wife have ever been convicted of a crime. What's your point?

What did they admit doing and what happened to their friends in the Underground? My point is that that group and the muslims are the only two groups who have bombed the Pentagon.

"Ayers participated in the bombings of New York City Police Headquarters in 1970, the United States Capitol building in 1971, and the Pentagon in 1972, as he noted in his 2001 book, Fugitive Days." (Wikipedia)

My God, the House GOP is bereft. Bereft of ideas, bereft of intellect, and bereft of any sense of proportion or reality. Please continue, man-boys, I look forward to a long, long period of adult supervision, aka Liberal rule.